The document provides guidance on the writing process. It emphasizes that writing involves multiple drafts and revisions ("keep essaying"). Effective writing involves prewriting techniques like free writing, journaling, and brainstorming to generate ideas before drafting. Writers should understand the assignment parameters, purpose, audience, tone, and point of view. Research, including primary and secondary sources, helps develop the topic. Organizing the raw material into an outline prepares it for the drafting stage.

1. The Writing Process- getting
started
French for “trials” or “attempts”essais.
Never be satisfied with the first
draft. Keep “essaying,” keep
trying.
Some are naturals, but all can
learn.
E. B. White: “Writing. . . is a chore

2. Prewriting

Like warming up before running or
exercising
-
ignore the critic in you- don‟t worry about
errors
-
saves time later
you can learn to write
- prewriting makes random associations
-

3. Keep a journal (write 3-5 times a week)
Henry David Thoreau: our lives would be
enriched if we “employ[ed] a certain
portion of each day looking back upon
the time which has passed and in
writing down. . . [our] thoughts and
feelings.”
 Journaling fosters awareness of our
own lives
 Pros and cons of the topic


4. Understand the boundaries of the
assignment
Clarify the type of paper the instructor
has in mind. If you‟re not sure, ask.
 What are the parameters?
 How long?


5. Determine your purpose,
audience, tone and point of view


Purpose- What do you want the essay to
accomplish? (inform, explain, convince,
persuade, entertain)
Audience- who are your readers?
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Age, gender, education?
Political, religious beliefs?
Interests and motives?
Prior knowledge?
Biases (about the writer or the subject)?
What values do we share?

6. Tone
Tone- emotional state (enthusiasm,
anger, resignation
 Integral to meaning
 Determine tone early because that
helps determine word choice and
sentence structure


7. Compare the two tones


During the 1960s, many inner-city
minorities considered the police an
occupying force and an oppressive agent
of control. As a result, violence grew
against police in poorer neighborhoods, as
did the number of residents killed by
police.
An occupying force. An agent of control.
An oppressor. That‟s how many inner-city
minorities in the „60s viewed the police.
Violence against police soared. Police
killings of residents mounted.

8. Point of View

Compare:
◦ “Today is my birthday. I‟m eight. Grandpa died
an hour before I was supposed to have my
party.”
◦ “My grandfather died an hour before my eighth
birthday party.”
FIRST PERSON:
Appropriate for personal
experiences/observation
Not appropriate “I believe that…” “In my
opinion…”
Do NOT use in objective presentation

9. 
Second person (you)
some advantages, but usually not
appropriate for formal writing

Third person
most common
best choice
objective (outsider) point of view

10. Discover your essay‟s limited
subjects

For example:
Education > computers in education >
computers in elementary math classes
Transportation > getting around in a
city>
the transit system in Philadelphia
Work > planning a career > getting an
internship

11. Question or Brainstorm
Assignment: We live in a world that is
hostile to children.
Who is to blame? Parents, media,
schools…
How have schools contributed? Need
counselors..
Why do children feel frightened? No one
to talk to.
Where do they go to escape? TV;
games…
What dangers could that bring on?
Apathy, poor grades, on-line


12. GENERATE MATERIAL
 Free
write on the limited subject
jotting down in rough sentences
everything that comes to mind
 Brainstorm your limited subject
list every idea, fact and example
that occurs to you about the
subject
 Mapping (diagramming, clustering,
webbing)

13. Patterns of Development





Description
person,
like
Narration
Illustration
to detail what a
place, or object is
to relate an event
to provide specific
examples or instances
Division/classification
to divide into
groups
or related
categories
Process analysis to explain how
something
is

14. 
Comparison- contrast

Cause-effect

consequences
Definition

point out
similarities and
differences
analyze reasons
and
to explain the
meaning of a
term
or concept
Argumentation-persuasion
to win
people
over
to a point
of view

15. Conduct research

Primary research (do it yourself)
◦ Interview
◦ Conduct your own studies
◦ Compile your own statistics
• Secondary research
- find articles, books, other research

16. Organize the raw material
Scratch list or outline
 Re-read your points
 Cross out anything you can‟t use or
don‟t need
 Add points that add support
 Relate similar items
 Develop groupings
 Determine paragraphs
